Rail bond



March 22, 1932. w p, BOVARD Q 1,850,915

RAIL BOND Filed March 22, 1929 Inventor MLLJAM I? B OVA D A ilor ne y Patented Mar. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM I. BOVARD, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE OHIO BRASS COMPANY,

OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF 'NEW JERSEY RAIL Bonn Application filed March 22, 1929. Serial No. 349,094.

My invention relates to rail bonds for connecting rails of special shape.

The object of my invention is to provide a bond for electrically connecting the adjacent ends of a T-shaped rail, the upper surface of which is used as a contact surface with a sliding shoe on a moving vehicle, the bond to be applied to the lower portion of the webof the rail and is adapted to be welded to the rail.

lVIy invention resides in the new and novel construction and combination ofthe various elements of which it is composed and are clearly set forth in this specification and shown in the attached drawings.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side view of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the left hand end of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view showing the bond in position upon a rail or conductor.

Fig. tis a plan view of the bond positioned upon the web of the rail which is shown. in section. r

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

F ig. 6 is a modification in construction between the conductor and terminal members from that shown in Fig. 5. t

My invention comprises a body member 1 composed of one or more cables laidside by side so as to form a wide but flat conductor. Each end of the body lis provided with a terminal member 2 preferablyof a ferrous metal, although a non-ferrous metal such as copper may be used. The terminal comprises a tubular end portion 3 having a passage therethrough to receive the body members 1.. Each body member may be surrounded by relatively thin projecting sleeves 4 which protect the cable from the edge of the portion 3 and also tends to dampen out vibrations before they reach the extreme edge of the terminal 3, thereby increasing the life of the body member 1. The sleeves 4. SUI.-

rounding each cable'may be eliminated andthe cables placed side by side in contact with each other if desired, as shown in "Fig. 6 and a single. sleeve 5 then may be positioned between the cable and the terminal and surrounding all. of the cables as a unit. The end faces 6 of the cables are preferably allowed to project beyond the tubularportion 3.

Projecting from the tubular portion 3 is a bottom portion 7 and upright wall 8 which form a pocket open on one side and the top but which when applied to the web 9 forms an open top mold or receptacle 10 for the reception of molten attaching metal.

In order to hold the terminal 2 in place during the welding operation, the terminal is formed witha projectinghook member composed of the portion 11 substantially parallel or in alinement with the bottom 7 and having a portion 12 projecting at substantially a right angle to the portion 11. The exposed side edge 13 of the terminal rests against the side of the rail web and the hook member engages the opposite side of the rail web and the clearance is such that the web is bound between the terminal proper and the hook member as the latter is more or less I yielding.

The terminal portion is preferably made of .a casting, although it may be formed as a gitudinal line at the point indicated by the arrow a. i v

.Having' positioned the bond as shown in F igs- 3 and 4, the operator then proceeds to fill the mold portion 10 with molten attaching metal from a rod of ferrous metal orv copper alloy by means of a carbon are, the oXy-acetylene flame, or the metallic arc in which the rod of welding metal forms the electrode. Such process is well known to those skilled in t'he'art and is fully set forth in many prior patents. The welding metal is united to the inner surface of the mold '10 and to the end faces 6 of the cable through fusion, thus securing the cable terminal and rail securely together mechanically through the medium of the welding metal in thereceptacle 10 and also forming a very eificient electrical connection between the cable and the rail. Y

The portion 3 is angularly disposed to the bottom wall 7 and this,disposes the-axis wewaof the end-of the conductor-angularly' iii) to the plane of the bottom wall, thus throwing the cable between the terminals upwardly in a more protected position.

There is a particular advantage in my in vention in that I may form the conductor 1 of as many individual cables as I wish to secure the capacity desired as the cables are in a plane transverse to the rail web and the dis tance I may extend the conductor transversely is quite unlimited. As I do not need the width at the cable end to extend throughout the terminal, 1 narrow the terminal as it recedes from the cables thus reducing the width of the receptacle 10 and economizing in welding metal used which is quite expensive if of copper or copper alloyed with a flux.

Most bonds in the past have been arranged to be attached to the ordinary type of rail but my bond is, I believe, the first to be created which is adapted to be attached to the vertical side face of a rail web and held in position in a manner as shown in Figs. 3 and 4: by means engaging the opposite vertical side face of the rail web.

The portion 11 is so arranged with respect to the body portion that the terminal is positioned at the lower edge of the web 9 and limits its movement upwardly.

Having described my invention, 1 claim 1. A rail bond adapted to be welded to the vertical face of a rail and having means to engage the opposite vertical face and encircle the connecting horizontal face, comprising a conductor member and a terminal member secured to and projecting from the end of the conductor, the terminal forming with the said side face of the rail a receptacle open on the top and closed on the sides and bottom to retain fused welding metal in fused relation to the rail and conductor and means projecting from the terminal on the open side to engage the opposite side face of the rail comprising a transversely projecting portion parallel to the bottom and a projecting portion from the end of said portion and spaced from the receptacle portion to engage the said face.

2. A rail bond comprising a terminal memher having a tubular portion to receive and grip a plurality of longitudinally disposed cables laid side by side to form a relatively wide fiat conductor in a horizontal direction when applied to the vertical side face of a rail, a portion projecting from the tubular portion to form the bottom and side walls of a receptacle open on one side and of which the said rail face forms the other side of a receptacle open on the top to retain fused Welding metal, the end of the conductor exposed within the receptacle, and a hook shaped portion to engage the vertical face of the said rail at a point opposite that point engaged by the terminal to hold the bond in position for welding, the tubular portion holding the conductor inclined relative to the bottom.

3. A rail bond for welding to a vertical side face of a rail comprising a plurality of conductor members positioned side by side and a terminal member secured to the conductors, the terminal member having a portion at one end to receive and grip the conductors at one end, the terminal arranged to form an open top receptacle with one of the said vertical faces of the rail web and hold the conductors with their longitudinal axes in a common horizontal plane and having means to engage the other said vertical face of the rail to hold the bond in position at the lower end of the web and prevent its vertical movement in one direction while welding to the rail.

4. A bond terminal comprising a body portion composed of a bottom wall and an upright side and end wall angularly disposed to the bottom forming an open side and open top receptacle and a tubular portion at one end to receive and grip a conductor, a transverse portion projecting from the body portion on the open side and intermediate the tubular portion and the opposite end of the terminal and having an upright portion spaced from the body portion and cooperating with the body portion to hold the terminal and conductor on a rail web while welding.

5. A rail bond to be welded to a rail com-- prising a terminal member and a flexible conductor comprising a plurality of cables laid side by side and forming a relatively flat and wide conductor, the terminal member having means at one end to mechanically secure the terminal to the end of the conductor and comprising a body member having a bottom portion in a plane extending in substantially the same direction as that of the conductor and a side wall and end walls at substantially right angles to the bottom, the bottom being provided with a projecting hook having a portion extending from the body member substantially in alinement with the plane of the lower face of the bottom and arranged to underlie the lower part of the rail and another portion to engage the opposite face of the rail to which the body member is attached to hold the bond in place while welding, the side edges of the bottom and end walls being in a common plane and arranged to engage the side face of the rail and the bottom, end and side walls forming with the said side faces of the rail a receptacle to catch and retain the fused welding metal.

6. A rail bond for welding to a vertical side face of a rail comprising a'flexible conductor member having a greater width than height and a terminal member projecting from the cable and mechanically secured together, the terminal member having a bottom, a side and end walls arrangedto form a receptacle with one of the vertical side faces of the rail web and having means to engage the opposite vertical side face of therail web to hold the bond in place adjacent the lower edge of the web while welding, one of the end faces being apertured to receive the conductor and hold it with its axis angularly disposed to the plane of the bot tom and projecting from the vertical rail face with its width corresponding to a plane horizontally disposed to the vertical face.

7. A rail bond terminal comprising a body portion composed of a horizontal bottom and upstanding side and end Walls angularly disposed to the bottom wall, one end wall being apertured to receive a conductor, a portion projecting from the bottom portion in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of the bottom and having an angularly disposed portion spaced from the body portion and cooperating with the body portion to grip the vertical side faces of the rail at opposite points, the bottom, side and end walls forming with the side face of the rail an open top receptacle with the horizontal width of the receptacle at the conductor end sufficient to include the conductor and tapering to a lesser width at the opposite end.

8. A rail bond terminal having a body portion adapted to be applied by Welding to a vertical side face of a rail web and form an open top and closed bottom receptacle therewith for molten Welding metal and having means to engage the opposite vertical side faces of the rail web and hold the bottom of the receptacle adjacent the lower edge of the Web and other means at one end of the terminal to mechanically secure the terminal to the end of a plurality of conductors in projecting relation thereto and to hold the longitudinal axes of the conductors in a common horizontal plane at right angles to'the vertical face of the rail. 7

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM P. BOVARD. 

